Braves draw tough soccer first round

The 14th-seeded La Conner High School girls’ soccer team has a tall mountain to climb in this year’s post-season format.

And that’s on several levels.

Not only have the Braves (5-7-2) drawn No. 3 Cle Elum-Roslyn in first round state playoff action today, but La Conner must play the loser-out match on the Warriors’ home pitch on the east slope of the Cascades.

The winner of the contest (5 p.m. Nov. 13) advances to play the victor between No. 11 Adna and No. 6 Mount Vernon Christian with the date and location to be determined.

La Conner lost 5-0 to Mount Vernon Christian (12-3-1) on Nov. 6. and dropped a hard-fought 3-2 verdict to the Hurricanes Oct. 11 at Whittaker Field.

Prior to its meeting with Mount Vernon Christian last week, La Conner edged host Auburn Adventist 2-1 on Nov. 4.

Meanwhile, Cle Elum-Roslyn (16-2) has won its last five matches by shutout, defeating those teams by a combined 22-0 margin.

The Eastern Washington team is coming off a 3-0 triumph last Saturday over Highland, which it outscored 12-1 over four clashes in 2024.

Cle Elum-Roslyn has enjoyed much success in recent seasons, having reeled off an 18-game winning streak a year ago. Even so, La Conner’s first-round state opponent is fairly young with just two seniors – defender Nora Nicholls and forward Olivia Colder – on its roster.

La Conner, under second-year head coach Maddie Huscher, counters with a roster of three eighth graders, five freshmen, five sophomores, three juniors and seniors Kendall Lee, Lydia Grossglass, Bailey Smith and Lily Dougliss.